The Untold Truth Of Kat Dennings

Kat Dennings, whose birth name is Katherine Victoria Litwack, was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on June 13, 1986. The beauty was bitten by the acting bug at a young age and started her career by appearing in commercials and making cameos on both the small and big screens.

Early on, Dennings had appeared in projects such as "ER" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." But it was her leading role in 2008's "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" that really put her on the map. Then, in 2011, an even bigger break came when she scored the series lead role of Max Black on CBS' "2 Broke Girls" and instantly made TV viewers fall in love with her strong, funny, and totally relatable character.

As her career has continued to mature with appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (among other projects), here are some super surprising facts all Kat Dennings fans need to know.

Instead of attending a traditional school, Kat Dennings was home-schooled by her parents and completed her high school curriculum when she was just 14 years old. Although she has called the experience "good," the actress has also admitted in a 2011 interview with Complex that when she began nearing the end of her studies, she "just couldn't deal with being in the tiny room with my parents anymore."

How did she resolve that situation? "I took charge of my education ... it worked great. I don't think I could have dealt with traditional school, just the way my brain is wired," she admitted. Her decision obviously paid off: Dennings flew through her schoolwork and graduated much sooner than many of her peers.

When asked if she thought she bypassed the social side of school, she said, "I think there's an element of that, but nothing I missed. Nothing that hurt me."

When Kat Dennings first decided that she wanted to pursue an acting career, her parents were less than thrilled with the idea. Even Dennings herself joked that acting "is the worst idea ever." Since her success, however, they've come to embrace her decision.

"[N]ow they are over the moon!" she told Glamour in 2012. "I was one of those kids where I clearly wasn't going to be in school much longer, you know what I mean? I'm not a kid who can learn that way. I was a very unique child. I think they knew I belonged in the arts."

Dennings went on to share where she may have gotten her own artistic talents: her parents. "My dad is a biochemist, but he actually wanted to be a painter when he was younger, so he had it in his blood. And my mom is a poet, so they all had their own secret art."

It was 2000 when Kat Dennings — just a teenager trying to make it big in the industry — had her small screen debut on the hottest show on television, Sex and the City. The role was a small one, and you may not even remember it, but it was huge for Dennings. And looking back on it now, it was quite the epic on-camera moment.

The budding young star played 13-year-old Jenny Brier on an episode titled "Hot Child in the City" in which she hired Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) to plan her bat mitzvah. Following her interaction with Samantha, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), Dennings' character left the women questioning their youth and wondering if the teens were trying to imitate them, or if, in fact, they were the ones trying to imitate the teens.

Because she was raised in what sounds like an eccentric, artistic household, it should come as no surprise to learn that Kat Dennings was not allowed to watch TV as a child. In a 2012 interview with The New York Times, ironically promoting her TV sitcom role in the cast "2 Broke Girls," Dennings said she was, however, allowed to watch old movie musicals like "Top Hat," a 1935 picture starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. She was also able to listen to her parents' old stand-up comedy records, like Steve Martin's "Let's Get Small," which she partially memorized and performed for them at just 3 years old. "I saw the reaction it got, and I was hooked," she told The Times.

Speaking at the Television Critics Press Tour (via The TV Addict), Dennings said that her family actually "had to get cable" just so they could watch her TV debut on "Sex and the City." "So all my little homeschool friends and their moms saw Kyle MacLachlan's ass. It was pretty incredible," she joked.

Unlike many young celebrities who embrace the party lifestyle that's so prominent in Hollywood, Kat Dennings has chosen to stay far away from drugs and alcohol. "I'm an idiot already, so I don't need any enhancement," she explained in her interview with Complex. "I don't feel like I'm the kind of person who can deal with some kind of foreign stimulant. I don't need an excuse to act a certain way. Some people use that to show their true feelings, whereas I do that all the time."

Not only does she not take part in this behavior herself, but she also steers clear of those who do. "To this day, I still don't like being around drunk people," Dennings told Glamour. "It's like seeing someone jump out of a plane without a parachute. There's a lot of pressure in this town."

That said, she went on to admit that yes, she does have the occasional drink with friends, following a European trip that changed her outlook on wine. While overseas, Dennings indulged in some wine, admitting, "Now I get it when they say wine goes with the food, and it's a whole experience, so I'm not opposed to wine now and then because Europe changed that, but I don't like to drink and get drunk."

Of all the hobbies an A-list star like Kat Dennings could decide to take up, knitting is likely not the first one that comes to mind. But that's exactly what she loves doing in her downtime, and she's got quite the unlikely partner in crime.

During an appearance on "Ellen," Dennings revealed that she and UFC champion Ronda Rousey have started a knitting club with some of their friends, and they've dubbed it "The Yarn and the Restless." (Brilliant.) "We just knit a scarf and get drunk," said Dennings, going against her usually strong stance against alcohol. That's not all the gal pals do, though. They also make plenty of "friend memories" while letting their inner designers shine.

Dennings went on to joke that she was planning to sell a scarf she made for $2,000, to which Ellen DeGeneres responded with the suggestion that she really do so and donate the proceeds to charity.

On "2 Broke Girls," Kat Dennings played Max Black, a waitress with secret dreams of starting a cupcake empire. Although Dennings didn't make the cupcakes that appear on the show herself — there was "an amazing girl named Amber who bakes the cupcakes" — she did frost them live on camera "in real time." "Anytime you see me piping a cupcake, I'm doing it," she revealed to Glamour in 2012. "Amber taught me! But they are amazing! From time to time, when my blood sugar feels low, I'll just take a swipe of icing."

It also seems she was a fan of cupcakes in her off set downtime as well during her time on the show, also sharing with Glamour that her favorite cupcake shop in LA at the time was Sprinkles. "Sprinkles is light, and I can eat up to 25 cupcakes and be okay," she said.

Though Kat Dennings has been romantically linked to singer Josh Groban and actor Nick Zano in the past, there was a time when she and Canadian rapper Drake could have been an item. That's right, Drizzy once made his obsession with Dennings clear via a late night tweet back in 2011. 

"Kat Dennings I just woke up out of bed to let you know you were a dime on Conan tonight. XO," the "Hotline Bling" rapper tweeted. That same year, he told Elle that he was "in love" with her and that he was going to invite her to his Vegas birthday party. Sadly, Complex reported that Dennings told Chelsea Handler that she and Champagne Papi are just friends despite her description of him as "super, super nice." She added, "He's a lovely person. He's a nice man." Sorry, DraKat dreamers, it just wasn't meant to be.

In addition to acting, Kat Dennings is also a talented screenwriter, as she proved with "Your Dreams Suck." a script she co-wrote with her brother, Geoffrey Litwack, which landed on the 2008 Black List of that year's "hottest unproduced screenplays."

"I don't really talk that much about it, but I write, and directing is on the horizon one day," she told Movieline in 2011. However, as of 2024, "Your Dreams Suck" has still never been made, and Dennings has still yet to ever step behind the camera as a director. In that same Movieline interview, though, Dennings may have already alluded to the challenges that led to this outcome. "The process of getting a movie made is so ridiculous so it's still in the pipeline. We have amazing producers and we're giving it to people to read right now," she said. And in case you're wondering, no, she never planned on acting in "Your Dreams Suck."

Kat Dennings used to blog (and vlog) pretty frequently at her eponymous website, KatDennings.com. Her glorious archive lives on, though her last blog entry is dated February 10, 2010, when she presumably gave in to the dark side and made the permanent leap to social media. (Her Twitter had already been active for just under a year by that point.)

Dennings' blog was a quirky blend of musings, stories, artwork, and other brain droppings. She endlessly described herself in entries as "weird" and "crazy," and in one post in particular, laid out what could be described as a mission statement. "As you are undoubtedly aware from reading this endless omnibus of redonkulousness, I am kind of a weirdo. I write like someone who's been trapped in a well for 9 years with a radioactive bathtub and/or "Doctor Who." And if you've seen me speak candidly in some type of nonfiction interview, you might gather that I also talk that way," she wrote. The post was intended to address the fact that people often misconstrue her eccentricity for being high, but it also showcased the fact that beyond her acting abilities, Dennings is simply a creative force.

Kat Dennings has made several references to being "goth" when she was a kid. During a memorable interview with Conan O'Brien, she told him that, for a time, she actually believed that she was Wednesday Addams, even going so far as to introduce herself as the character to strangers. Dennings has also shared photographic evidence of her goth years on Instagram, showing her dressed in all black and sporting some heavy, black eye makeup and lipstick. "Happy World Goth Day from 13 year old KD (Kid Darkness)," the caption of one post from 2015 read.

Then there was another Instagram post from 2014, which featured an 8-year-old Dennings' writing. It read, "I'm Bord! Bord Bord Bord Bord Bord Bord Bord!!!! I'm so Bord! Im Bord to Death! Take me now Lord." Yikes. That was one dour little child. Thankfully, Kid Darkness was just a phase.

Kat Dennings first met Natalie Portman "on the set of [her] friend's music video," according to her interview with Movieline. Dennings showed up to support one of her best friends, Devendra Banhart, who was shooting the video for his single, "Carmensita," and that's when she met the Oscar-winning actress.

The two met again on the set of "Thor" in 2011 and their time on set together doubled as the ultimate BFF hangout. "Natalie and I just never stop talking. Never stop talking," she added to Movieline. Because of this, their co-star Stellan Skarsgård was privy to a lot of girl talk. As Dennings recalled, "We'd be talking about boys or something and we'd turn around, and Stellan is just napping in the back seat. Poor guy, with two ridiculous young girls talking about silly things!"

Dennings and Portman have since appeared in two more "Thor" movies together.

"2 Broke Girls" was co-created by comedian Whitney Cummings and Michael Patrick King, the man who also gave Kat Dennings her start in TV on "Sex and the City." Speaking with GQ, King revealed that Dennings' character on the show was "pretty much molded" for her. "I don't think there's anybody else like her so we basically hunted her down for this," King told the magazine, adding, "She has a kind of amazing outsider edge. It made everything else fall into place." King also told The New York Times, "There's nothing manufactured about her, and that comes through on-screen. People are responding to her because it feels like an individual has wandered into their living room."

Though she was chosen for the role based on her natural edginess, Dennings credits her mom and her brother with the inspiration for her character. When asked by Deadline about her "deadpan cadence," Dennings said, "That's really interesting — I've never thought much about that. I guess it's just how I am. But I know for a fact my older brother Geoffrey is also very much like that. And I worshipped him as a kid, so I give him a little credit." But she also said, "I kind of ended up imitating my mother because she was a poor girl from Queens who was cool and tough."

After six successful seasons, CBS decided to pull the plug on "2 Broke Girls" in May 2017. Speaking with Deadline, Kelly Kahl, CBS' head of scheduling, broke the news, saying that "'2 Broke Girls' was a really good show for us for a very long time. Our comedy development this year was very good and whenever your comedy development is really good, it puts a lot of pressure on some of your older shows. We felt creatively it was time and we had to create some space on the schedule to get some new product on."

Rather than being upset or bitter, Kat Dennings took the news in stride like a true professional, turning to Twitter to share a sweet message with fans of the show on behalf of herself and her co-star Beth Behrs. "We've had a wonderful 6 seasons as Max and Caroline and we thank all of your for watching and enjoying it along with us," she wrote. "We are so proud of our time on 2 Broke Girls and all of the things this experience has given us, the most treasured is our lifelong friendship."

The pressure to look perfect in Hollywood is undeniable, but Kat Dennings has never been one to play by the rules. Something she proved when she took to Instagram in May 2017 to share a candid snap with her 2.5 million followers that showed off a few gray hairs. Rather than trying to cover it up with color, Dennings proudly uploaded a close-up snap of her roots, writing, "THAR SHE BLOWS. #Glamdalf."

Fans quickly took notice and praised her boldness in a series of seriously sweet comments. Some even took the opportunity to share their own experiences with graying hair. "I'm 24 and have them also! They are beautiful," wrote @mrs.erandysanchez, while @rarest.aurora posted, "I'm not the only brunette with a touch of grey! Wooo! Duh. But seeing someone as gorgeous/talented as you with the same thing makes me feel better." If you needed proof that Dennings is one of the most relatable actresses in the business, now you have it!

Following the racial clashes and riots that were sparked by a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, leaving one woman dead and over 30 people injured, Kat Dennings refused to remain quiet.

Taking to Twitter, she wrote, "I threw up after reading the news and it was NOT the donuts I ate." The actress went on to retweet a series of messages posted by journalists across the social media platform and concluded with a simple four-word tweet that read, "SIMPLY what the f***," which got over 4,000 likes and 800 retweets in 24 hours.

More recently, Dennings also spoke out about another sociocultural issue: the misogyny inherent in body shaming and holding women's appearances to certain standards. "Any woman in the spotlight is already under a tremendous amount of pressure, and the internet is gross and awful and I hate it," she told Entertainment Tonight in 2020. Dennings felt compelled to express this after trolls attacked musician Billie Eilish for wearing a tank top. As Dennings tweeted, "Anyone reacting to @billieeilish having a normal body has to take a hard look at themselves. As someone who looked exactly like that at her age, it'd be nice for this unhealthy nonsense to f*** right off. She's beautiful and normal goodbye!"

Usually, when stars (or anyone, for that matter) are asked what they would change about themselves, their answer comes in the form of something related to beauty. Not so for Kat Dennings. Put on the spot to choose one thing she would change about herself, the actress started in with a textbook response, "I'm still young and I'm hoping to learn as I grow," before revealing that it's her actions behind the wheel that leave her feeling self-conscious.

"I wish I was a less anxious driver," she admitted in her 2011 interview with Complex. "LA's a stressful place to drive, and I tend to seize up when I drive. I get very nervous when someone goes in front of me. I'm working on that. I'm getting better at it."

Then again, as recently as 2023, she posted a photo of herself in the driver's seat of her car on Instagram, captioning it: "would you believe I'm just OKAY at driving?"

Although it seems like nearly every popular actor in Hollywood has taken a turn starring in a Marvel project, it's actually an elite group. Kat Dennings joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2011 when she played Darcy Lewis in "Thor," and two years later she reprised her role in "Thor: The Dark World." The "Thor" series took a yearslong hiatus after the second installment premiered, and it wasn't until she was asked to appear in the 2021 miniseries "WandaVision" that Dennings was able to play the character again. As Dennings shared with Entertainment Weekly, the request to reprise her role for "WandaVision" was a surprise, but she was thrilled to do it.

Taking nearly a decade between performances of the same role can be a bit of a challenge, but Dennings was up for it. "I felt like I don't think Darcy as a human being is that different but she certainly has become older, wiser, and more senior. Now she's the boss, and she's never been the boss before. I think there's that confidence in herself that maybe she didn't have before that was fun to see," Dennings said. "WandaVision" wasn't the last time MCU fans got to see Darcy — Dennings played the character a fourth time in the 2022 film "Thor: Love and Thunder."

2023 was a big year for Kat Dennings. The actor tied the knot with her boyfriend of three years, Andrew W.K. As the couple shared with Vogue, they had known of each other for years before meeting. Soon after making each other's acquaintance, they knew they wanted to be together. Dennings and W.K. got married in their own backyard, and Dennings fashioned much of the decor herself. After the ceremony, the bride and groom spent time inside their house with their intimate group of guests, and Dennings noted later that while preparing so much of it herself was a lot of work, it was worth it.

Dennings and W.K. considered a variety of wedding options before landing on their home as a venue, and both knew it was the right choice for them. "I felt very present and filled with gratitude for Andrew and our loved ones during the ceremony. I felt truly lucky to be marrying such a kind and loving man. The ceremony itself was kind of a blur but in the best way. We just looked into each other's eyes and were so excited to finally be husband and wife," Dennings said. The actor's father died shortly before the wedding, so her mother walked her down the aisle instead.

Kat Dennings doesn't have strong religious beliefs. The actor shared in an interview with Jewish Journal that though she was raised Jewish, she doesn't practice it as an adult. "I went to my little friends' bat mitzvahs, but I'm not that into religion ... [Judaism] is an important part of my history, but as a whole, religion is not a part of my life," Dennings said. Although the actor doesn't identify with the religious aspects of Judaism, she still takes pride in her heritage. "It's a background thing, but I'm proud to be Jewish," she said.

Dennings' background has come into play in her career as she's brought Jewish characters to life on-screen. The actor played the female lead in the 2008 film "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," and the titular character was Jewish. "I liked that Norah was a strong and unique female lead, not the type of girl I was used to seeing in films like this. I liked that she was Jewish — it's different from what I've seen in the past," Dennings said of the part.

Kat Dennings loves animals, and she uses her influence to speak out about animal causes close to her heart. On Giving Tuesday in 2023, Dennings posted a photo to Instagram of herself as a child holding a cat, sharing, "I'm proud to support the ASPCA who works tirelessly to rescue animals and give them second chances. Before they can find a loving home, rescued animals need people like you to support them." The actor has also worked with Royal Canin in the past to encourage more pet owners to take their cats to the veterinarian annually.

Dennings doesn't just vocalize her support for animals — she cares for them, too. The actor has cats of her own, and in January 2024, she added two new felines to her home, one named Lentil and another named Barley. Dennings has also thought about housing other animals. While appearing on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Dennings shared that she had considered adopting a domesticated fox as a pet.

Podcasting has become a very lucrative venture for some, and celebrities are jumping at the chance to get their own podcasts, too. The medium is constantly evolving, giving stars like Kat Dennings the opportunity to showcase their talents in unique ways. From 2020 to 2022, Dennings voiced the character of Death in the podcast series of "The Sandman," an adaptation of the comic series of the same name. Dennings had befriended series author Neil Gaiman via Twitter, and when the podcast adaptation was in the works, the writer personally asked Dennings to voice Death. "She was always my favorite character, I could not believe it and agreed without any further thought. But I've since felt that pressure on my shoulders since we all love her so much. It's a huge honor," Dennings told Entertainment Weekly of the opportunity.

Dennings, like most celebrities, has also used podcasts as a way to promote her work and connect with fans. The actor has appeared as a guest on multiple interview podcasts including "Queer Eye" star Karamo Brown's eponymous podcast as well as her former "House Bunny" co-star Anna Faris' podcast "Unqualified."

Kat Dennings' Instagram followers know that the actor is also a hobbyist gardener. Dennings started gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I started a garden and I had been wanting to do that ever since I moved here. I never had the time, or I never made the time before. I built the garden boxes myself and planted them last spring," Dennings said in an interview with Glamour. The actor noted that gardening was something that made her feel better during the pandemic.

Dennings regularly posts photos of her crops to social media, and she even got to meet a gardener who's gone viral on TikTok on "The Drew Barrymore Show." One of Dennings' proudest moments in her gardening journey was when she made homemade tomato jam from the tomatoes she grew in her garden. "[Y]es it's true I have successfully morphed into the wizened old grandfather I have always dreamed of! I grew these tomatoes and then I harvested these tomatoes and then I made jam out of these tomatoes and frankly, nobody can tell me anything right now," Dennings said on Instagram, sharing a video of the jam. Among her other plentiful crops are peppers, radishes, pumpkins, and kale.

Kat Dennings was beloved in the sitcom "2 Broke Girls," and two years after it ended, she returned to the screen for another comedy series, "Dollface." The series was a Hulu original, and it boasted a cast full of recognizable names like Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, Malin Akerman, Esther Povitsky, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Lily Singh. Dennings took the project incredibly seriously as an actor, but it was doubly important to her because she served as an executive producer on the series, too.

Another Hollywood powerhouse served as an executive producer on the series — Margot Robbie. As Dennings shared in an interview with BuzzFeed, Robbie's role in the series is what got Dennings interested in the project. "[H]aving Margot Robbie involved was a no-brainer. It was such a good jumping-off point. I could see so many seasons coming out of it. It just felt like the right thing. It has such a unique vibe. Yeah, that's how it happened: Margot Robbie wants you to read a script. That was it," she said. Unfortunately for Dennings and company, "Dollface" was canceled after two seasons.